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I’ve got a previous engagement, so no game story from me tonight. I’ll be back in the morning with thoughts and observations on the game once I’ve had a chance to break it down on my DVR.
Here’s the link to Percy Allen’s recap of the worst Husky loss in about three years.
Tough night to be a Dawg fan.
Thanks for coming!
Tags: Post-game story, USC
Bret Hartman / LA Times
Ugh. . .
After the game, nearly in tears, Quincy Pondexter talked about how he didn’t think there was any chance the Huskies would lose this game. Me neither, and I’m not sure where this leaves us.
Here’s some thoughts on last night’s game:
Poor Quincy. He really was struggling during his post-game radio interview to keep it together. And, rightfully so. Win this game, and the team could legitimately say they’d turned a corner. Now, though, the road woes hang over them like black cloud.
Conventional wisdom says that home court is worth about 10 points in a basketball game. To the Huskies, though, it looks like it’s worth about 30.
We forced 16 turnovers, which isn’t terrible, but the defensive intensity of last weekend just wasn’t there.
Justin Holiday wasn’t a huge factor tonight. He had two ugly turnovers. And even his defense looked only pedestrian against Nikola Dragovic, who looked good early, but then disappeared late in the game.
Bright side: Abdul Gaddy is looking better every game. I even thought his defense looked okay tonight.
What’s up with the rotation? Venoy played only 12 minutes tonight, and Matthew Bryan-Amaning only four. Sometimes our substitution patterns seem almost random.
Instead of MBA, we get Darnell Gant picking up two costly fouls late in the game, and taking an inexplicable turnaround jumper in the lane when we’re down three points with four minutes to go.
Our interior defense is horrific. We got beat three or four times with simple passes over our entire defense Thursday night.
Reeves Nelson looks a little like a poor man’s Jon Brockman — if Brockman were a whiny little snot. (Sorry, I’m still upset about the game)
Isn’t the midrange jumper something we should be able to hit more consistently than the three-point shot?
Isaiah looked good on defense tonight, but gawd, he needs to find a way to score against the zone. A simple 2-3 turns him from Mighty Mouse to Minnie Mouse.
Dammit. Here’s what I wrote in my notes with 9:53 left in the first half, and the Huskies up 24-21: Only hanging because shot is falling! Not playing great, but hitting shots.
Final thought: This one would’ve been easier to digest if we’d laid a total egg. But we didn’t. We just didn’t play enough D, and our shot stopped falling in the second half. As Romar said, the effort wasn’t bad at all. But, the result was the same.
Final thought #2: Sure, we could’ve won by 8-10 points if our shot was falling in the second half. But, we also could’ve lost by eight or 10 if our first half shooting hadn’t been so great.
It’s gonna get late early for the Dawgs if they can’t get up off the mat for a win on Saturday.
Tags: Post-game story, UCLA
The Huskies (3-4, 12-6 overall) lost to the UCLA Bruins (3-3, 8-10), 62-61, at Pauley Pavilion Thursday night.
The least you should know:
The Huskies lost a see-saw battle on a last-second jumper by Mustafa Abdul-Hamid.
The Dawgs shot 58.3% in the first half, building a 41-37 lead, but only managed 20 points on 29.6% shooting in the second.
Quincy Pondexter shot 4-4 from beyond the arc, nearing keeping the Huskies in it all by himself, finishing with 23 points and six rebounds.
Tags: Post-game story, UCLA
Huge win. Potentially a season-changing win for the Dawgs who know now that, at their best, they can beat anybody.
Scroll down for our game story, but here’s some more thoughts and observations on Saturday’s big win:
Not to start off on a negative, but Venoy had zero steals again against Cal… He’s only got two in his last five games, and seems generally less active on the defensive end. Not sure if this is the result of more focus on playing under control or what. But, I miss the peskiness a bit.
Also, Venoy almost got Quincy killed when he overthrew him on an alley-oop that (thankfully) turned out fine, especially since Quincy got the foul call. Quincy’s dad did not look thrilled at the play either — an interesting reminder of how much trust is put in the passer on a play like that to lead his man to the hoop safely.
It’s so easy to take Isaiah for granted — he piles up 18- and 20-point games like they’re nothing — but when he plays defense the way he did this week, there isn’t a better guard in the league.
I don’t mind 29 fouls in a game like this. The Huskies are committing themselves to a “no easy baskets” approach, which I like. They’re working hard, and if it’s going to mean more fouls, fine. I just wish we had another reliable post player so we don’t wind up with Clarence Trent, who’s just not ready yet, on the court at crunchtime of a big game.
That said, the Pac-10 refs have been atrocious so far. One example: Scott Suggs got called for an intentional foul with the team up more than 20 in the second half. Call it a flagrant if you must (which it wasn’t), but when there’s absolutely NO reason for an intentional foul, nor had the game gotten chippy, you can’t call that.
Gaddy and Overton combined Saturday for a nice point guard performance: eight points (four each), eight assists (five for Gaddy, three for Venoy), two turnovers (both by Gaddy).
Matthew Bryan-Amaning had a bit of a bounce-back game with 10 points and seven rebounds. But a lot of his production was against beanpole Max Zhang. I want to see MBA do it against a tough opponent, when the chance to get hit in the post actually exists. I’ll take what I can get from Matthew, but felt like he was taking advantage of a terrible defender more than really changing his game.
The lineup looks set for now, and Coach said he didn’t see any reason to tinker at this point: Gaddy, Isaiah, Holiday, Quincy and Tyreese start. MBA, Suggs and Venoy are the key reserves. And Darnell Gant, Elston Turner and Clarence Trent seem destined to see ten or less minutes per game for the time being unless a specific situation calls for them to see more.
Coach Romar mentioned after the game that he didn’t really think UW matched up well with Cal, and it’s true. Our starting five against their big scorers is a big minefield of defensive mismatches, but today only one of Cal’s big guns ever got going.
This could easily go the other way when we go down to Cal, but if the Huskies play with this much emphasis on defense the rest of the way, they’ll win the conference — no question.
Tags: Cal, Post-game story
The Huskies (3-3, 12-5 overall) defeated the Cal Bears (3-2, 11-6 overall), 84-69, at Hec Edmonson Pavilion on Saturday afternoon.
The least you should know:
Very similar start to Thursday night’s game — the Huskies came out and dominated early, taking a 33-12 lead in the first 11 minutes, never looking back, and cruising the rest of the way.
The Huskies had their most complete defensive effort of the season, forcing Cal into 22 turnovers, and holding them to 33% shooting. Cal’s biggest star, Jerome Randle finished with five points and eight turnovers.
Quincy Pondexter scored 21 of his 25 points in the first half, and led the Huskies to a 50-31 halftime lead.
Tags: Cal, Post-game story
Big win for the Dawgs last night. Now, for the real biggie against Cal on Saturday. The win can get the Huskies back to .500 in conference play, and reassert them as one of the teams to beat in the league.
Here’s some thoughts and observations on Thursday’s big 94-61 win over Stanford:
The Huskies forced 20 turnovers tonight, 20 against Portland State, and 22 against Portland. Coincidentally, these were the three games in which the Huskies looked best all around. Since we’re a team that’s going to live and die with its defense, I love the move to start Justin Holiday, our site”s favorite Husky.
He’s in there for his defense, but the underrated part of the move to start Justin Holiday (and play him starter’s minutes — 26 to be exact) is his impact on the offensive flow. He doesn’t make many mistakes, he never forces his shot, and he’s a good passer.
I liked the move to match Quincy for most of the game against Stanford’s not-so-imposing front line. His focus on aggressive offense and rebounding tonight paid off. Defending Zimmerman or Trotter isn’t going to take anyone out of their game on the other end of the court.
Quincy had a huge dunk off a Justin Holiday steal in the first half that got the crowd going and reminded me how much I love going to big Pac-10 games at Hec Ed.
The Dawgs steadily built their lead tonight all the way through, until garbage time. But their least energetic stretch was still that first five minutes after halftime, which has been the case all season. Strange.
Coach still played 10 guys in the first half and 12 in the game, which I think is too many. That said, it may partially have been due to the foul trouble on Tyreese Breshers (four fouls) and Matthew Bryan-Amaning (three fouls).
When he manages to stay on the court, I like what Breshers does with the ball, but one thing he’s not great at is receiving the pass in the post. With such a wide body, he should be better at shielding himself and gaining possession, but he’s not.
You heard it here: Stanford’s Landry Fields may be the conference MVP when the season is said and done, but Quincy has a much better shot to stick in the NBA. Fields has “Europe” written all over him.
Nice defense by Isaiah against the much taller Jeremy Green. Green averages 17.6 points, and Husky defenders (mostly I.T.) held him to seven tonight. With both scoring leaders held in check, Stanford simply didn’t have anyone else good enough to step up and challenge UW.
Justin Holiday might be the third best rebounder on the team after Quincy Pondexter and Tyreese Breshers.
The Cardinal must’ve blown their coverage at one point, because Isaiah found himself with a clear path to the basket and an easy layup. Seeing it reminded me how rare it is that the Huskies get those kind of easy buckets.
The Huskies shot 0-8 from three in the first half. That’s not going to cut it against Cal.
That “Dancin’ Dawgs” video played on the scoreboard tonight was bad. Very bad.
Thanks for coming!
Tags: Post-game story, Stanford
The Huskies (11-5, 2-3) defeated the Stanford Cardinal (8-8, 2-2), 94-61, on Thursday night at Hec Edmundson Pavilion.
The least you should know:
The Huskies led wire-to-wire, building a 22-6 lead in the first 11 minutes and never looking back.
Justin Holiday earned his first career start and finished with six points and seven rebounds, but earned high praise from teammates and Coach Romar for his stellar defensive play, which included three steals and a block.
Quincy Pondexter found his offensive game again, finishing with 27 points, 10 rebounds, 3 blocks, and shot 12-16 from the field.
Tags: Post-game story, Stanford
Wily Low / AP
Quick bright spot: There’s a lot of talent on this team. We’re only four games into the Pac-10 season and there’s time to right the ship. That said, anyone who tells you the ship is on course right now is full of baloney.
Three straight losses to three unspectacular teams. I’d say I’m baffled, but I’m not. When many of your wins come in unspectacular fashion at the expense of smaller conference schools, is it any wonder that similarly ho-hum efforts against Pac-10 teams may not end well?
Really, the Huskies haven’t necessarily performed worse in their five losses than in many of their 10 wins. The competition has just been better in the games we’ve lost.
I was hoping, as we were playing just a notch above teams like Montana and San Jose State, that stronger competition would bring out the best in these Dawgs. So far, it’s been the exact opposite, and what we’re seeing is that this team’s “second gear” is either very difficult to conjure up, or simply non-existent.
Here’s some more thoughts after watching the Huskies get thrashed by Arizona:
I don’t expect too much out of FSN’s game coverage which is very much hit-or-miss. But, Dave Sitton and Corey Williams just sounded unprepared tonight. They mispronounced Pondexter for the entire first half (“Poindexter”) and consistently called players by the wrong names, a sure sign they didn’t do enough prep for the game.
I did hear one interesting point, though. Williams mentioned that the harder you make Quincy Pondexter work on defense, the less potent he tends to look on offense. It’ll be interesting to see whether this trend continues through the Pac-10 season, but certainly looked to be the case this weekend as Quincy contended with a host of tough defensive assignments, looking generally anemic on the offensive end.
Quincy just looked dazed Sunday. I get the sense that, as the team’s lone senior, he’s having a tough time with the harsh reality that, try as he might, this team may not be a championship-level squad. As the team’s leader, though, if he can’t bring the energy night in, night out, they definitely won’t be dancing in March.
Speaking of dancing: Since his one-night stint in the Nutcracker ballet on December 24th, Pondexter is averaging 14.8 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.0 assists — all below his season averages.
MBA’s confidence is really low right now, and it’s tough to watch. He’s a sensitive kid and I don’t get the sense that he’s going to be very productive at all if Coach is indeed now committed to Tyreese Breshers as the main scoring option in the post. Sad, because, as we all know, the raw material is there, but he hasn’t been able to show it in his play consistently.
Anyone else think Venoy Overton isn’t as effective on the defensive end this year? Looks to me like he’s having a lot more trouble keeping guys in front of him.
I try to measure how bad things are going for a team by how many straight wins it would take to change the entire atmosphere to something positive. Right now, I’m saying four.
If you watched Sunday’s game without any way to see the score, I think it would’ve looked like a 35-point win for Arizona. The Huskies allowed a very mediocre team to look like worldbeaters.
So, if you’re Coach Romar, what do you do? I’m struggling to think of a drastic change that makes sense. On the other hand, these guys are a few bounces away from being 0-4 (The six-point Oregon State win was hardly convincing, considering the Beavers lost at home by 51 to Seattle U. a week later.)
Here’s a few minor suggestions:
On the defensive end, I’d like to see some more full court pressure, and then a zone that we can drop into as a “change-up” at times. If we’re going to start two freshman and a 5’8″ shooting guard, there’s going to be nights when an exclusively man-to-man defense puts us at a disadvantage.
On the other side of the ball: our four true “bigs” (MBA, Breshers, Darnell Gant, Clarence Trent) only account for 21% of our points, and we need more out of those two spots. Let’s officially make Quincy the “4″ and ask him to play a bit closer to the rim. Quincy’s a physical specimen, and in the smaller-than-usual Pac-10, he’s a perfectly adequate power forward. This will allow us to play to our strengths, potentially putting three scoring options on the floor along with Pondexter.
Also, 6’6″ Quincy might be our best rebounder. If last night is any indication (Arizona outrebounded UW, 40-23), a rededication to the boards may well be in order anyway.
What do you think? Let me know your thoughts in the comments section!
Thanks for coming!
Tags: Arizona Wildcats, Post-game story
The Huskies (1-3, 10-5 overall) lost to the Arizona Wildcats (2-2, 8-8 overall), 87-70, on Sunday afternoon at the McKale Center in Tucson. The loss was Washington’s third straight.
The Least You Should Know:
The Huskies were behind wire-to-wire, cutting the deficit to two early in the second half, but spending much of the game behind by 10 or more points.
Quincy Pondexter had his second straight poor performance, finishing with seven points and three rebounds.
Washington had no answers on the defensive end: Arizona shot 50% for the game, 8-17 from three-point range, and had six players in double figures.
The Narrative:
After consecutive double-digit losses, the Washington Huskies crucially needed a strong performance against Arizona to salvage anything at all from the early part of their season.
Instead, Washington heads back home with plenty of questions, as they had no answer at all for the hot-shooting Arizona Wildcats, who defeated Washington, 87-70, on Sunday afternoon.
The Wildcats scored the game’s first eight points and never looked back. In building a 37-27 lead, Arizona held the Huskies’ two leading scorers, Quincy Pondexter and Isaiah Thomas, to zero points in the first half.
Elston Turner was the Huskies’ only bright spot early on, scoring 11 of his 12 points in the first half, during which the team shot only 33% from the field.
The Huskies started the second half on an 8-0 run, playing their best 90 seconds of basketball all weekend. They cut the lead to two points, 37-35, on a three-pointer by Thomas with 18:33 remaining in the game.
After that bucket by Thomas, Wildcat head coach Sean Miller called a timeout, and Arizona methodically built their lead from there. The Huskies were never within 10 points in the game’s final 12 minutes.
While point guard Venoy Overton was the favorite target of the Arizona State crowd on Friday evening, freshman Abdul Gaddy was the recipient of the fans’ enmity at the McHale Center Sunday. Gaddy originally committed to play at Arizona before changing his mind and going to UW.
Despite being booed each time he touched the ball, Gaddy scored his career-high Sunday, finishing with 13 points on 5-7 shooting.
After being held scoreless in the first half, Thomas finished strong with 18 points, five rebounds, and five assists.
The Huskies return home for a visit from the Bay Area schools this weekend, with Stanford coming in on Thursday, and Cal returning for a rematch of last year’s triple-overtime thriller on Saturday.
Analysis and Observations:
The first half was the flattest I’ve seen the Huskies all season. On Friday, against the Sun Devils, at least you could blame ASU’s deliberate approach for lulling the Huskies to sleep. Tonight, I have no idea why they came out and looked like they were sleepwalking.
Abdul Gaddy scored 13 tonight and looked in control, but it felt a bit as if he was looking for his shot to quiet the crowd. He finished with only one assist and three turnovers on a night when it may have been better to get his teammates involved more.
Husky of the Game: Isaiah Thomas. 18 points, five boards, five assists. Say what you will about IT, but he doesn’t hang his head when the Huskies get behind.
I think it’s safe to say that the Huskies are vulnerable on defense after getting throttled on that end of the floor for three straight games by three very different offenses.
Tyreese Breshers has to find a way to stay on the floor. He’s picked up at least three fouls in eight games so far this season. Since he’s the only reliable scoring option the Huskies have in the post, it’d be nice to see him able to play more than 12-13 minutes a night.
I’m not sure where the Huskies go from here. They’ve played two-and-a-half straight games of ineffective and uninspired basketball (the second half against Oregon, and the two games in Arizona) proving they’re either badly slumping or not as good as advertised. It’s hard for a team to downgrade expectations on the fly, but this may be a big week of soul-searching on Montlake.
Although the effort was there in the second half, Guys on the bench looked to be hanging their heads — not a good sign.
Since there’s no way I can look at the Huskies as a favorite on Saturday (although I think Vegas might), Thursday against Stanford is clearly a must-win for the Dawgs.
Thanks for coming!
Tags: Arizona Wildcats, post-game, Post-game story
I’m still away on vacation. And, yes, it is strange having no idea what’s going on with the Huskies.
I’ll be back January 10th with full, daily coverage of the Huskies.
Come back tomorrow for post-game analysis from our guest blogger.
While I’m gone, we’ll have plenty at Montlake Madness to keep you occupied, but for full game coverage, check out these excellent (and free) websites:
UDubSports.com’s basketball page (I’ll be back to writing for this site as well just as soon as I return home.)
Tags: Arizona State, Post-game story
